Downloaded from : http://www.actcom.co.il/~gil-s/forum7.htm
THINK ABOUT IT
The Landmark Forum
Outcome
In the short term Forum attendants enjoy success, especially regarding
relatives. This is due to the confidence their artificial support group
gave them. Going to the Forum alone, as the Landmark people correctly present
it, is the first meaningful step. The rest follows. One may also deduct
from the last sentence, that it may not be the Forum itself which gives
the people the power to "make a difference" in their lives. Theoretically
speaking, a sudden decision to take rock climbing lessons may result in
the same way. That’s the positive aspect, anyway.
However, its shortcoming is that in long term, the whole experience tends
to mellow. There is a negative outcome which is triggered by the power
of the experience and the (mild?) pressure initiated by the Landmark personnel
to recruit more people and make them happy as well. Of course, after such
a strong and positive experience, who would suspect they actually asking
people to be Landmark agents for free? So people go back to their daily
lives happy as birds with two irritating side effects. The word "Forum"
always surfaces up, whether they try to sell it to you subconsciously ("I
had the most important experience in my life" etc.), or directly ("Had
you attended the Forum, you wouldn’t have been unhappy.") with the
insufferable jargon flowing about ("Do you want to make a difference
in your life?"). This may sound amusing, but after repeated nagging,
everyday people tend to shy away from their Forum relatives (I know, because
I almost lost a friend that way). Then there’s the really dangerous part.
The combination of:
a. Extremely intense courses
b. Denial of proper rest
c. Obedience through group pressure
d. Confusion of the critical mind through wordplay might result in mental
damage. People who lost their relatives, jobs, minds and lives due to the
destructive nature of this combination. Of course, not all of the people
lose it. Probably most of them don’t. But how can YOU be sure, if there
is no medical supervision on participants? Tempering with the human mind
is a potentially dangerous act. Some of those who survive become addicted
to the Forum and continue to shell out money for complementary courses.
After that there are advanced courses, the sky is the limit. Come to think
of it, the size of your wallet is the limit.